Materials and Methods: In this study, 16 eyes of 16 patients with diabetic macular edema were evaluated. Triamcinoloneassisted PPV with indocyanine-assisted ILM removal was performed in all eyes. Main outcome measures were the foveal thickness changes measured with optical coherence tomography, and preoperative and postoperative visual acuities. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used in statistical analysis.

Results: Mean follow-up period was 4.2 months (range; 1 to 6). Mean foveal thickness ± Standard deviation (SD) was 534.8 82.7 µm preoperatively and 273.7 32.6 µm postoperatively (p=0.000). LogMAR visual acuity ± SD was 0.78±0.23 preoperatively and 0.60±0.24 postoperatively (p=0.005). Visual acuity improved by 2 or more lines in 9 eyes (56.2%) remained stable in 7 eyes (43.8%). No recurrence of macular edema was observed in any of the eyes. No major intraoperative complications were encountered in any of the eyes. Mild progression of nuclear sclerosis in 2 eyes (12.5%) and transient increase of intraocular pressure in 3 eyes (18.7%) were observed during the follow-up period.

Conclusion: Posterior hyaloid could be visualized and removed easily using triamcinolone during PPV. In eyes with diffuse diabetic macular edema, triamcinolone-assisted PPV with ILM removal appears to be an effective method in the early postoperative period. However, controlled studies with a long follow-up period are required for a more reliable conclusion. Keywords : Diffuse diabetic macular edema, internal limiting membrane, pars plana vitrectomy, triamcinolone acetonide.